The Black Marker
by TheCrumpetThief432836
Summary: Arthur is a 17 year old boy just looking for an escape from his nightmares; even when he is awake they come to haunt him. He meets someone who shares the same life, and they fight their fears together. FrUK, set back in the 1900's, mythical creatures too.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Okay, I am just writing this prologue so that way you can get a feel as to what this other story my friend and I are working on is all about. Basically, in this "chapter", there will only be, if there is any, dialogue from Arthur. I haven't communicated with my friend yet as to Francis' dialogue, so you don't get any of that yet. Sorry .  
>I would've begun writing chapter four of "Tables Turned: Parenting", but if I stop writing and then start writing at a later time, it completely messes up the creative flow… I sound so crazy.<br>NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED WITH 'MAGIC MARKER'  
>Anyway! Onto the prologue!<strong>

**XXX**

He gripped the wand tightly in his hand, refusing to let go. It was the only thing he had brought with him as he escaped the tyrannical house of his family; always being left out, bossed around, yelled at, and there was no one there to comfort him. He hated that place, hardly believing he once called it 'home'.

Arthur was never abused at his house, but he was constantly put to work while the rest of his family sat around the house, creating more tasks for Arthur to attend to. They would always yell at him when he completed the task, claiming he did it all wrong, sending him to his room without supper. Did I mention he was seventeen and still being treated like this?

He had absolutely no idea where he was, as he ran down the dirt path that led away from the village which now consisted of deep, thick mud. His shoes stuck to the ground with every step he took; running through it only it made it worse. Quickly ruining his shoes, he began to get tired and gradually slowed down the hasty pace at which he was escaping the life to which he had been chained.

Heart racing, hair and clothes soaked and his mind in a haze, Arthur completely stopped running and took temporary shelter under a nearby tree. This obviously was not the best choice, seeing as how he was under a very tall, slim tree in a thunderstorm. It was his only option though, if he wanted to rest for a bit. Looking behind him, he saw the foot prints that slowly vanished as the mud shifted back into place, and was thankful for such a thing. Now no one would be able to track him; not even the dogs. His scent had to be washed away from the pouring rain on anything he touched, even the tree he was leaning up against now; it was almost as if he was never there.

He regained his stamina quickly, and continued on his way to a new life; to a place where no one knew who he was, or why he had come there. They would know nothing of his past, or his special power. No one would accuse him of being crazy or think his drawings were worthless cries for attention. He knew what he saw, as well as what he dreamed at night, wasn't a cry for attention. He didn't know why he dreamed of such demented, maniacal, and psychotic things. Drawing them wasn't his choice either.

Arthur loved to draw, ever since he was little, and has always slept with a marker and paper near his bedside in case he woke to an idea. He used to see the most adorable things; Flying Mint Bunnies, unicorns, pixies and fairies, and all sorts of things! They were all harmless, and he enjoyed dreaming because of them. But every morning, when he tried to draw them out, he could never remember what they looked like, and when he tried to draw them they came out demonic looking. They weren't bad drawings at all, just very, very demonic in nature. Eventually, he began to see his drawings as he slept. The sweet, loving friends he always enjoyed the company of, soon turned to pure terror. He never wanted to sleep again after he saw these for the first time, but was forced to by his family because he was keeping them awake as well with the constant noise coming from his room; the quill pen scratching the surface of the paper.

Whenever Arthur awakes from these dreams, he always finds that they are perfectly drawn-out on the paper that is on his end table. Every last detail, down to the evil look in their eye, is captured in these drawings.

We have all (most likely) used a marker before, and know it is hard to make things detailed with one. In the time that Arthur lived in, there was no such thing as a marker. Arthur claimed he bought it from a merchant that was passing through town, and he called it a 'Magic Marker'. Everyone denied what Arthur claimed, and when he tried to show it to people, they would tell him it was a feather pen and an ink bottle! They couldn't see what Arthur was really holding in his hands, and eventually, Arthur couldn't see its true "marker" form either. In his eyes, it became a wand.

The wand was a dark-brown color, with a diamond pattern carved into it about halfway down the length of the wand. Below that, it was smooth so a person could grip it with comfort, and at the very bottom of the wand there was a green jewel that glowed whenever Arthur became frightened.

None of this mattered to Arthur now. All he wanted to do was run away from the monsters that tortured him even if it was only from the people who were referred to as his 'parents'. He didn't even think they were his real parents! He looked nothing like them, let alone any of his siblings. He always knew he wasn't related to them by blood, but they always told him that he was their child, and no one else's; and not in a loving way either.

Arthur's mind and body were not in sync as he kept running. He was hardly able to think at all, but when he could, he began to figure out something very important.

_Maybe… just maybe… if I run far enough away from __**them**__… those dreams will go away too…_

Unfortunately, Arthur began to get tired again, and sat down under a tree, legs stretched out in front of him. He knew he wasn't far from a village, for he saw smoke rising from what looked like a house about half a mile away. He would have continued running and tried to find shelter there, but he could barely breathe as it is, and felt like he was going to _die_ if he didn't rest again for a moment.

Suddenly, a loud crack was heard above his head, and he looked up. Before he could react, a huge branch fell onto his right leg, due to the fact he moved his left one. He screamed out in pain, and attempted to move the branch that was on the now numbed-area of his leg. It was too heavy for him to move though. He was stuck.

XXXXX

A screamed pierced the tranquility of the woods; a pained scream.

Francis got down from where he was hunting in the branches of a tree. He did admit, it wasn't his smartest idea, but he needed food. He had been on his own for two weeks now. He left his parent's house about two weeks ago, without saying goodbye. Of course, no one was looking for him, for no one cared about him. He was completely able to live on his own. After all, he was seventeen.

With that, he put the laser back in its holster, and he ran towards where the screams were coming from, each becoming fainter than the next. He could tell it was from a young man, maybe his age.

_Who, other than me, would be out in weather like this?_

He hated the rain, for he claimed it ruined his beautiful, flowing hair. He honestly had no choice in the matter though, as he could not control the weather.

When he thought he was really close to the source of the screams, they suddenly stopped, and were replaced with coughing, and then what sounded like someone trying to stifle a scream. He walked through the bushes, and found the blonde boy sitting on the ground, looking pale as blood ran from his leg and into the green grass beneath him. Francis quickly moved the branch (which was about the size of a log) off of his leg, and ripped part of his tunic off to make a bandage. The blonde's eye seemed fuzzy, as well as pained. His hair was matted with dirt and debris, and his clothes were ripped and full of mud. Behind all of that, he saw that the boy was younger than he expected; probably about fifteen years old.

The boy finally spoke after a few minutes of silence between the two.

"Can you… get that for me?" The boy lifted his arm and pointed to something that was lying on the ground, about three feet away. Francis picked it up, and saw that it was a wand with a green jewel at the bottom. He admired the craftsmanship of it before handing it back to the boy.

"Where did you obtain a wand, _mon cher_?"

The boy's eyes gained some emotion at hearing the question. Francis wasn't sure whether it was because he just spoke French, or because he knew it was a wand.

"Y-you can see… that it's a wand?" It was the latter.

"_Oui, je peux._"

"In English… you frog." He was glaring at Francis the best that he could, but wasn't able to reach the point of scaring Francis. With a sigh, Francis repeated himself.

"Yes, I can."

"Can you see this… as well?" suddenly, the tip of the wand began to grow a light blue color, and when the boy touched it to his leg, he regained full mobility of it, and it was no longer bleeding. He looked at Francis, whose eyes were wide with amazement. "By the gobsmacked look on your face, I suppose you can."

"Wait," Francis took the laser out, "What do you see this as?"

The boy looked very puzzled. He held out his hand as an offer for him to see it, and Francis allowed him to see it.

"If you'd like to see how it works, point it at that thing over there, and pull this little part with your finger." The boy looked to where the Frenchman had pointed, and saw a creature from his dreams.

"You can see that as well? Of all the people I run into, I run into someone like me!" he followed Francis' order, and shot the mouse-looking creature with wings down. It became dust particles, and the once hideous, purple creature became a friendly-looking, mint colored creature. Francis took the laser from the boy, and put it in his holster.

"We have the same nightmares, I suppose." Francis suddenly realized something; he never gave the boy his name, and never learned his, "Oh _oui_, my name is Francis. What shall I address you as?"

"Arthur. Arthur is fine." He looked over to the small, green bunny with wings, and called out to it, "Flying Mint Bunny! Come over here, would you?" The small creature happily came over, and sat on Arthur's head. Francis chuckled to himself at the sight.

"I'm glad you two have met," the small bunny said as he got off of Arthur's head, "I've been meaning to tell you each about what has been happening around here. First of all, can we get out of this weather? I'm getting a bit sick of it."

"Why yes, _petite créature._ I have a house not too far from here." He turned to Arthur. "Can you walk?"

"Yes. The magic completely healed my wounds. I'm fine now that I have my wand."

The three of them began to walk towards the village, Francis asking along the way if Arthur had some sort of teleporting spell. The boy just shook his head, coughing once again.

**XXX**

**Okay! Well, that is the end of the prologue! I hope you enjoyed it and are willing to read the rest of the story once I write it! :D  
>I apologize in advance if any of my French is wrong. (I was using Google translate…)<br>You know what is good but also bad? The fact that right now I have another idea for a fan fiction… It's a PruCan story… I'm not starting that yet! No, no, no, no, no! I need to get to at least chapter 6 on here and chapter 9 on my other story!  
>So, how do you guys like this story thus far? Have any suggestions? Want a cupcake? (I had one earlier today. Red Velvet. :3)<br>This is all I will be uploading for a while, due to the fact that I have a ton of school work to do. **

**Alex will be back eventually! She isn't taking a vacation; trust me! (I'll write some of this during school when I get done my work early, okay?) Bye bye~!**


	2. Chapter 1: A New Look

**Chapter 1**

**Well, I am home sick today. -_- I promise you, I am not always sick like this! It's just that it's winter and I usually get sick during this time of year. I feel like Canada right now though, because I can barely talk at an audible level at which a normal person could hear me, due to a sore throat though. So here I am, writing fan fiction. I would be working on a project right now but it is way too early for me to do so, and I am afraid I will mess up if I attempt to work on it…  
>After I am done writing this chapter, I shall be writing the next chapter of Tables Turned: Parenting (for those who read both of my stories. For those who don't, the other is a USUK fan fiction if you'd like to go and check that out.) Anyway, onto the first chapter! <strong>

**XXX**

The boys looked at each other in amazement. They were equipped with new clothing, shoes, and they finally knew their purpose. Francis' clothes were very royal-looking, but also in a way, made him look very much like a knight. He wore a Cornflower Blue medieval tunic, and it showed off his figure quite nicely. It laced it in the front by the neck, and was quite nice-looking for medieval clothes. It had a creamy-yellow outline around where his head, arms, and his torso came out. The first half of the sleeves were loose fitting, but them it became tight around his arms, and could be laced tighter if needed.

He was very pleased with the pants he wore as well. The tunic was long on him, so he was able to wear tights. They were a cerulean blue color that led down to his small, brown boots. They weren't tall boots, just little short ones; something to cover his feet. They had no laces, so they could be slid on and off with ease, yet stayed on his foot.

On his head, he wore a matching Cornflower-blue cap that had a red-violet feather sticking out of it. It stayed perched upon his head, no matter what. They only way it could come off would be for him to take it off himself. Overall, he looked like a blue-Robin Hood.

Arthur, on the other hand, was given a cloak, a spell book, and a whole bunch of new clothes. Francis and Arthur looked completely different than before; much more majestic.

Arthur's clothes were that of a mage. Underneath the black cloak, he wore a dark slate grey tunic that wrapped around his body, instead of having to be slid on like Francis'. It was outlined the same way as Francis'. The sleeves though, were tighter at the top and looser towards his wrists. The neck of his tunic went up farther that Francis' as well.

Below the tunic, Arthur wore a long skirt that extended to the bottom of his shins. This too, was outlined with the creamy yellow color, and wrapped around Arthur completely. (for a better image, see link at the bottom of the story.)

He wore brown sandals that crossed over his feet, and then wrapped around the top of his ankles. He had to admit, the whole outfit was very comfortable. Luckily, this was a winter outfit, for that terrible season was coming up soon.

Another thing that had been changed as well was the weapons they wielded. Flying Mint Bunny thought their weapons were insufficient for battle, and used her magic to change them. Arthur's little wand changed into a long, wooden staff that, at the end of it, went into a 3-pronged claw figure, that was wrapped around a bigger version of the green Jewel that was on Arthur's wand before.

Francis's laser was replaced a cross-bow. It wasn't an ordinary crossbow with ordinary arrows though. The crossbow could also be used as a shield, and the arrows followed their target until they hit something, no matter what. You could also use various types of arrows, and not have to alter the crossbow. The veins on the arrows, however, were always purple.

Arthur had to admit, he liked the staff better than the tiny little wand. He had more power, and he enjoyed that fact he could swing it around just in case something got too close. The claws at the end that held the jewel were very sharp, and could easily hurt someone if used incorrectly, or if they were hit with it, they could be killed.

Francis was confused by the cross bow, and had to get some training from Flying Mint Bunny. He was very embarrassed by this, seeing as how he was being taught by a flying rabbit that no one else could see. There was a target set up outside of Francis' house, and by the time he was done practicing and getting used to his crossbow, the target was in tatters.

_Earlier~_

_Flying Mint Bunny sat down on the table, a very serious look on her face. The boys came over and sat down as they waited for her to speak._

"_You two are guardians. This is something that you cannot abandon or give to someone else until your job is done. You-"_

"_Being a little blunt now, aren't we?" Arthur said in an annoyed tone._

"_You wanted me to get to the point, so that is what I did. I can read emotions very easily, and you're an open book, Arthur." Arthur sat back, looking defeated._

"_Can you just start with some background information? Who are these "guardians"?"_

"_The Guardians are a group of five super-human people, who have existed since before the Romans. They exist to rid the world of the Black Dreams, and replace them with that person's aura."_

_Arthur's eyes widened. "By aura, would you happen to mean the glow that surrounds each and every human on the planet?" Francis looked at him, a bit astonished that he knew this._

"_Since when was there an aura around me?" Francis asked._

"_You are born with them. They grow and develop overtime. Everyone's aura starts off white, and then changes to a different color, depending on your personality. Arthur, being a Mage, can see these auras. There are people though, who don't HAVE auras, such as yourselves. Instead, you have a 'Spirit Power'. I repeat, there are only five people in the world like this, you two being two of the five. A Spirit Power is what you use to fight off the Black Dreams, and replace them with Real Color Dreams. The Spirit Powers have a different… texture, if you will. An aura makes a person glow, while a Spirit power appears as an eye color. I guess it's really not a texture then, is it?_

_When you fight a Black Dream, you are basically fighting a fear, or a nightmare. How big the Black Dream is, depends on how scared the person is of it. There are two main types of Black Dreams' Black Nightmares, and Black Fears. A Black Nightmare is a mental monster that infects a person's aura, making them appear to be mean, angry, depressed, insane, and in a worst case scenario, evil. That person won't be acting like their normal selves. It won't always be obvious and that is why Arthur can see auras."_

_Francis turned to Arthur, who just looked down at the table. "You have a purple spirit power…I have a green aura. Romance and Jealousy would be their respective names." Wide eyes, Francis was thoroughly confused as to how Arthur knew this. Almost as if Arthur was reading his mind, he continued, "While you were practicing with your crossbow, I read a bit in the spell book. It has an entire section on auras." He looked up at Francis and offered a smile that said 'What did you think I was doing? Playing with my staff?'_

_Francis just chuckled, and nodded over to Flying Mint Bunny, who continued with her explanation._

"_If a person's aura is black, they are infected with a Black Dream, hence the black aura. To get rid of that black aura, you have to get rid of the Black Dream, obviously."_

"_It would be nice if you could explain how we do that." That comment came from neither Francis nor Arthur. It came from the mouth of another teenager, about sixteen years of age, who stormed into the house without any permission what-so-ever. "Flying Mint Bunny, tell me how!"_

"_Just who the bloody heck are you?" Arthur stood up from his chair, and walked around the table. He wasn't near the boy, but he was in-between Flying Mint Bunny and the boy._

"_Stay out of this, you lobster back."_

_Arthur was gobsmacked. No one had called anyone from England that in ages. "You watch your tongue!" He began to walk towards the boy threateningly, when Francis grabbed his arm._

"_Does he have an aura?"_

"_What?"_

"_Does. He. Have. An. Aura?"_

_Arthur looked back towards the boy, and noticed, he wasn't glowing. He had very bright blue eyes, which were filled with determination. Arthur hadn't noticed this at first, but now saw the boy for the first time. He had dirty blonde hair, glasses, and an American accent. Arthur had an English accent, and Francis had his signature French accent. The American looked right at Arthur, who turned to Francis, and shook his head._

"_No… he has a Spirit Power." Arthur shook Francis off his arm, and sat back down, clearly annoyed._

"_Yeah, thanks captain obvious. Flying Mint Bunny, tell us how to fight! Now! You refused to tell me before, so you better do it now!" The young man pulled out a sword that seemed to have lightning coming out of it._

"_Well, if you weren't so ignorantly rude and loud, you could've been able to anticipate that is what I was going to discuss next."_

_The young man stood there, speechless. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "Dude, I have no idea what you just said… speak English!"_

"_That was English, you numpty." Arthur couldn't help but let out an annoyed laugh, while Francis simply shook his head. "Just listen to her, and you shall get your answers."_

"_As I was saying, to get rid of a Black Dream, you need to fight it. A Black Dream is both a physical and a mental monster. To get rid of the black aura, you have to get rid of both parts. Anyone can fight a physical monster, but a mental monster can only be fought by one person at a time. That person must also have access to magic." She looked at Arthur, "So far, you are the only one of the group who can use magic. There are usually two people in a group that can use magic. One, a healer; the other, a mage. Arthur would be the group's mage, Francis is the group Archer, and Alfred," she nodded towards the boy, "Would be the group's warrior."_

"_It's just like those stories my brother would always tell me! A group of four or five people go on these journeys; a warrior, a mage, a healer, an archer and… what was the other one…."_

"_The Shape shifter."_

_Francis finally chimed in, "So all we are missing is a healer and a shape shifter?"_

_Flying Mint Bunny nodded, "That's correct. Fighting is really easy to do, so you can figure that part out on your own."_

"_Wait, it sounds like you are saying goodbye!" Arthur stood up once more, slightly panicked._

"_Well, I am; after I give you these," with a flash of light, there appeared three boxes on the table. They each had a letter on them, representing their Spirit power. Arthur had the M box, Francis had the A box, and Alfred had the W box. "Here are your new clothes. To you, these would make you feel as if you are sticking out like a sore thumb near other people, but your clothes are like your weapons. They don't see what you see. They see normal clothes; what they are wearing. Only other Guardians can see your real clothes and weapons. I do have one more thing to say though." She paused for a moment, making sure everyone was listening, "Your weapons can be seen three ways. As your weapons, as what normal people can see them as, and then what your Guides see them as."_

"_Who are these 'Guides'?" Francis was remaining quiet until this point. _

"_Guides are people who can help you on your adventure to beating the Black Dreams. They can see the clothes you are wearing as something not quite as magnificent as what you can see, but not quite as simple as what the people wear. You will seem a bit upper-class to these people. Your weapons to them will look like passports. You can use these to have them help you with buying things, going to other places that are farther away, or having them store something for you. These people will have Semi-Spirits. Their aura will be in the shape of a halo for people to buy things from, wings for transporting, and horns for storage. Keep an eye out for them. I'll stop by and see you guys while you are on your journey, but when I'm not with you guys, I'll be here."_

"_What will you be doing?" Arthur asked, worried._

"_I'll be helping you guys. New weapons, upgrades; you name it." With that, she led the three of them upstairs, and Francis saw two extra beds there. "Now get some rest. You'll need it."_

_~Present~_

Alfred's clothes were really that of a warrior. He was covered in armor, but his head was exposed. From his feet to about halfway up his thighs, he had leg armor. Underneath the leg armor, he worse tight, black pants. Oh his torso, he had the first layer of armor on, and he left the shoulder guards at the house, which was now their Headquarters. He did bring along the gauntlets, and his sword had nice, blue gem at the base of the handle. He looked just as majestic, if not better than, Arthur and Francis.

The three of them walked down the dirt road from which Arthur had come, heading back towards his house.

"Are we sure this is the best idea? How do we know there will even be any Black Dreams there?"

"Well, that's where you were running from, wasn't it?" Alfred had been filled in on what happened to both Francis and Arthur, and told his own story as well.

"Well yes, but why would they stay there if they had no one to infect?"

"You lived with family, didn't you?" Arthur smacked his head.

"Great Scott, you're right…" They quickened their pace just a bit, seeing as how Arthur lived with his parents, and they rest of his siblings who were younger than himself. _They all might be infected by this point…_

They saw the house in the distance, and Arthur was the first to realize the house was teeming with Black Dreams.

"Well, I guess this is our warm up, isn't it?" Alfred laughed loudly, and the three of them entered the house.

**XXX**

**Okay, well being sick apparently makes me write bad chapters. -_-  
>This was just kind of to fill you guys in on what happened in the cottage, and how the guys now look. I wasn't going to throw Alfred in there that quickly and I was going to wait a bit, but I didn't know how else to throw him in. I have another game plan for him, so in the next chapter, when I am feeling better and not so busy, you guys can have some FrUK! :D<strong>

**Please Review! It will help me get better a lot quicker! :D**

**TO THE DOCTORS! *Whoosh~***


	3. Chapter 2: The Battle Begins

**Chapter 2**

**Well, the Christmas Spirit *is writing some of this on Christmas* has put me in a good mood, and so have some other people (cough) HimochiIsAwesome (cough) My Family (cough). :D  
>So therefore, I am writing this chapter because it is blocking the creative flow because I have been having ideas for this story for SO LONG!<br>So, I am think about putting parts of these chapters in POV's, such as this one, which will be in Arthur's POV at a certain point. (cough) WHEN IT SAYS ARTHUR'S POV (cough)  
>I'm not sick anymore! :D My head is feeling much better, and it all has just put me in a fantastic mood! Here is your Arthur-filled chapter! And also, I am giving up my free time to write this instead of playing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (or in other words, the only Zelda game I HAVEN'T beaten!).<strong>

**XXX**

Arthur was the first to enter the house he once called a home. Following him, Alfred drew his sword from its sheathe, ready for battle. The light from the chandelier made the blue and green jewels of Arthur's and Alfred's weapons shine. The veins (feathers) on Francis' arrows gleamed, but not as brightly as the other two's weapons.

They proceeded with caution; Arthur looking around protectively and Francis was ready to shoot anything that came near Arthur. Gently, some debris fell onto Francis' head from the roof. Thinking it was a Black Dream, he aimed his crossbow at the roof. He looked around, and saw nothing but a bird sitting in the hole in the ceiling.

(Arthur's POV)

"Why the bloody hell is there a hole in the roof?" I could feel the fear running through me as I saw the huge hole in the roof. I wasn't just scared though; I was furious. The hole was huge; approximately six and a half meters by four meters large, and it looked as though it wasn't destroyed long ago. The amount of sunlight the damned thing let in lit up the entire entry hall. "If my parents make me fix _that_…"

"Forget the hole; we have to focus on rescuing your family, _mon chéri_." Francis laid his hand on my shoulder, probably trying to calm me down, but it only made me watch to hit him. I shook his hand off, making it clear that I didn't want to be touched; much less by_ him_.

"What the hack could've made a hole like that? It must've been HUGE!" Alfred was walking around, probably trying to get a better look at the hole. It was very high up, and it was hard to see any details.

"Just hope we don't run into whatever made that hole right now. I don't think we would be strong enough to slay it," Francis' statement barely registered in my mind; I was too focused on the door in front of me. It was odd… "Arthur?" I don't remember there being a lock there… "Alfred," Is that even a lock…? "What is wrong with you two?"

"They are locked." The Frog needed to learn when to shut up and wait, "The doors each have locks on them, and we don't have… keys." I looked to the door Alfred had been staring at; there was no lock.

"I don't see a _single_ lock on those doors! Now what is going on here?"

"Arthur," I turned to Alfred, his voice concerned, "there is no lock on your door."

"Yes there is! It's right there!" I was getting very annoyed. Why couldn't he see it? "All I know is that there is no lock on your door!" I walked over to his door, and he walked over to mine. Being a bit irritated, I tried to pull open the door and succeeded, making sure to brag about how I was right. "I told you it was open, you moron." I stepped through the doors, expecting them to follow me. It wasn't five steps later that the doors closed, and I was encased in darkness, unable to open the doors, "Guys! This isn't funny!" There was no response, "If the beast is in here I am going to kill both of you bloody bastards!"

I looked around the room only to discover it was very dark, only being lit by one candle.

_Considering this is my house, I should know what room I am in. If only I had a brighter light…_

I pulled out my spell book, flipping to the fire section. I mean, it was the BIGGEST section in the 'Element' part, so there just _had to be_ a fire enlargement spell…

The book was separated in a few ways; First, the 'Elements' section. It was divided into four more sub-sections. I find this to be quite helpful, actually. The four elements that are listed there are water, wind, fire, and earth. Fire is the largest section, due to the fact that it has a lot of attack spells. Water is the second largest, followed by earth, then wind.

After flipping past the attack spells and the defense spells, I found control spells. This was also really helpful. I'm glad whoever made this book was so organized…

_Hm… that's odd… there are only initials on it… F.M.B…_

Unlike most people, I read everything about the spell before trying it out. Apparently, the fire needs to take a form for it to get bigger, and I was allowed to pick its form. It didn't take me long to pick. I wanted a large fire, but I didn't want to make it into a carnivorous animal, so I picked a horse. Reading the text aloud, I filled in the blanks with what type of animal I wanted.

"I call upon the flames from hell; Rise up! Take the form of a noble steed! Light the paths I cannot see!" The fire began to move, first forming a sphere, and then into my desired animal. For some reason though, a horn was placed atop the horse's head. "Are you a horse?"

"Do you have any corn?" The question came from nowhere!

"Why would I carry around corn?"

"This _is_ your house, isn't it? Fetch me corn! It's the only thing I will eat!"

"I can't get you corn right now! We aren't in the…" I held my tongue, seeing as how we WERE in the kitchen, "I'll get you some corn, but you can't have it all! My family needs it!"

"What do you think I am; a horse? I'm not a glutton, I'll have you know."

"I don't know WHAT you are, first of all, and second, you are being extremely rude to someone who is giving you THEIR food." I grabbed about four ears of corn, and too them over to the being.

"What else would I be but a unicorn!" I thought it began speaking another language...

"What is-"

"STOP! Stop right there! I can sense that you have no idea what a unicorn is because you have a tiny mind." If this unicorn wasn't made of fire, I would burn it to the ground. "A unicorn is a one horned beast that looks like a horse. I actually named my species, which is why our name contains the word 'corn'."

"Ah, I see." I wasn't sure why, but the unicorn reminded me of Alfred; loud, stupid, and obnoxious Alfred… "Well, seeing as how I have the corn, you shall follow me throughout the house as long as I need you, understood?"

It took a bite out of the first ear and, with its mouth full, said, "Whatever, Blondie." Okay, it has been confirmed, it IS Alfred in unicorn form.

I noticed as we walked how the light that came from its horn was much stronger than that of the light emanating from the rest of its body. I figured that would come in handy when, and if, there was something I needed to read.

We need to get out of here soon; I'm getting a weird feeling about these rooms. It isn't the way I remembered the house. It's almost as if the house is… moving; rearranging its rooms.

After the last ear of corn was gone, the unicorn and I happened upon a door that was very large, seeming to be about three meters (nine feet) high. It actually wasn't one door, but double doors, that led to a pointed top, with a green crystal that lit up as we got closer. It matched the gem on my staff exactly.

Wait, this isn't my staff! It's back to a wand! How did this happen?

"Arthur, look to the doors, they are locked." I ran up to the doors, clutching the wand. The lock that was on there was a long, rectangular one, that seemed to have a slit in it, as though something were to be placed there. Looking at my wand, I decided that I might as well try it, if it meant getting out of the darkness.

I placed my wand in the lock, and it suddenly all disappeared; wand and lock. "My wand!" I opened the doors, as though I thought the wand might be on the other side.

I stepped into the bright room. The light that lit the room came from an unknown source, and I let the unicorn return to its home. The room was a great deal bigger than I had expected, and appeared to be made of some sort of reflective rock. Looking into the rock, I saw the pale look I had plastered to my face.

_There is no use in standing here…_

Because the layout of the room was so open, I walked straight to the center of the room and just began to look around. Suddenly, I saw my wand suspended in mid-air, moving about.

"How the bloody hell did it get up there?" I don't know why I am even bothering to talk out loud… no one could hear me. "I still have my spell book at least… I'll have to summon a bird to fetch it for me." I flipped the book open, only to find that the pages were somehow blank! Panicking, I called out to Flying Mint Bunny for an explanation.

(Meanwhile, back by Alfred and Francis…)

Francis was frantically pounding on the door, pushing a pulling, and desperately trying to get to Arthur. "Arthur!" He kept yelling his name, but to no avail.

"Dude, the door isn't gonna open."

"Can't you cut the door with your sword?" He pointed to the dull-looking jewel on the end of the sword, which was odd considering how brightly it had shined when Arthur was around.

"Don't you think I've tried that?" He pulled out the sword, walked over to the door, and swung at it. The sword simply bounced off of the door, not even leaving a scratch, "I have no idea what the heck this thing could be made of to not take any damage from this beauty!" Francis leaned against the wall next to the door, and sunk down to the floor, sulking, "Why are you so upset anyway? I'm sure Artie is fine! He is the most powerful out of all of us, and has both his staff, AND his spell book with him. Just the other day, I saw him use this really wicked lightning spell!"

Francis looked down at the ground, and ushered a sad smile, "I really don't know why… A part of me hurts to think that he is in danger. _Mon esprit, non, mon coeur fait mal ... _just to think he may be hurt." He looked to the hole in the ceiling. Alfred slowly waltzed over, putting the sword away. He crouched down next to Francis, and patted his shoulder.

Alfred looked to the ceiling as well, "He is kinda cute, isn't he?"

"What?"

"Arthur? The guy you love?"

_L-Love? I love him? No… I just met him a mere 48 hours ago! That is nonsense…_

After a moment of silence, Francis spoke his heart, "Arthur, my love, I'm waiting for you."

(Back to Arthur, 3rd Person POV)

"What do you mean 'possessor of the staff'? I am the owner!" Arthur was furious. Flying Mint Bunny had just informed Arthur about his current situation. Arthur was very unhappy to hear that unless he was in possession of the staff, which meant it was on his person, he couldn't read the spell book. This was to keep anyone else from using the powerful spells that were written inside.

"You may be the owner, but you aren't holding the staff or, in this case, the wand."

"Well can't you fetch it for me? I mean, it is right above us, after all!" Arthur couldn't possibly reach it with how high it was.

"Nope, sorry!" With that, she was out of the entire house, leaving Arthur alone once more.

"If she can't get it because of some stupid prophecy…" He walked around the room again, seeing as how he had nothing to do, and began to see if there was anything tall enough that he could stand on to reach it. After a while of walking throughout the room, which was lined with bookshelves filled with books and figurines of Dragons and many other mystical beings, he finally began to give up. "The others will be here eventually; I hope."

He looked down at the ground, but not before seeing something black out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and saw nothing. Being that he was defenseless, he didn't move towards the monster, but walked in a circle to see if it was hiding behind one of the six great pillars that was in the room, all of which were the same height and perfectly symmetrical.

He saw nothing, and figured he was just panicking. He would've turned around and went back the other way, but something stopped him; a sight that thrilled him to the point of screaming in a shrill voice: "Peter!" He ran over to his nephew, who was only seven years of age. He was short, had dirty blonde hair, and his eyebrows were beginning to take the shape of Arthur's. "Where are we? Where are mum and dad?" he bent down to speak to the boy at eye level, but he didn't respond. Peter's hair covered his blue eyes, which Arthur couldn't see. "Let's move this hair out of the way so you can see me properly.

He was thrown into the wall, struck by his own nephew's hand, "They've made me blind! I… I can't control myself!" Peter's body was being twisted in ways Arthur never knew possible; His right arm bending backwards, his left arm wrapping around his body, as though he were fighting a demon. Arthur watched in horror as he saw the only family member that ever showed any love towards Arthur was being slowly broken apart internally. Eventually, not being able to take it any longer, Peter dropped to the ground, as lifelessly as a ragdoll. "Arthur…" Suddenly, his body was taken up into the air, his arms and legs hanging loose and limp, "You… must… RUN!" Peter's eyes were no longer the familiar bright blue color, but now a dark and evil blood-red color. His arms and legs were black, and were in the form of claws instead of fingers and toes.

Arthur didn't hesitate to follow Peter's orders. He scrambled to his feet, clutching the blank spell book close to him. He hid behind the nearest pillar, in hopes that this would all be a dream. He felt like crying, shaking uncontrollably, and just completely losing it; but he had to keep a stiff upper lip, or he would die. Slowly, he stood up, and looked around the pole.

"Damnit, with him watching me like that, there is no way I can ever reach my wand… Where the hell is that idiot Francis when I need him?'

"Is he really an idiot to you?" Arthur jumped at the sound of Alfred's voice.

"How the hell did you get here? And where is Francis?" He looked around, really hoping to see the blonde Frenchman.

_Why do I want to see him so much?_

"Well…"

*FLASHBACK*

"_We really should try to open the other door. The door Arthur was looking at doesn't look like it has a lock on it, mon ami." Francis walked towards the door, Alfred close behind. If one of them went in, the other was to follow, so they wouldn't end up like Arthur. "Ready?" Alfred nodded, and Francis pushed the door open, making sure Alfred got through as well._

_The room they found themselves in was actually two rooms, splitting two separate ways, eventually to two separate doors, one rectangular, the other rounded at the top; each sporting their own colored jewel atop their frame. The rounded door to the left had a purple jewel above it, that matched the color of Francis' arrows exactly. The other door had a blue jewel above it, obviously matching Alfred's jewel on his sword._

"_Well might as well take our designated doors. Maybe we have like, a lesson to learn and by going through these doors, we can learn the lesson!" Alfred sounded very triumphant as he spoke, and Francis agreed with him. They went their separate ways, but not before wishing each other the best of luck._

*END OF FLASHBACK*

"The room that I went into was really bright, and made me practically go blind! It was so hard to see, and I had no way of covering my eyes and making it through the room, but I somehow managed to get through without dying! Haha!" He laughed loudly and obnoxiously, "When my eyes finally adjusted to the light of the room, I saw that it was a room full of lights and fires! After I realized there were some fires, I began to get reeeeeaaaallly hot. So I figured the faster I got out of that room, the cooler I would be, but before I could get out, there was suddenly this big fox thing that appeared in front of me, and it was MADE OF FIRE! I mean, how do I fight something like that right? So I took out my sword, and began to swing at it, wishing I had a bucket of water or something, and what do you know? My sword gets COATED in water! Then, after I slashed the hell outta that thing, I think of fire, and it lights up like a match! I mean, HOW COOL IS THAT?"

"Yes, yes. That is all very nice, but right now we are in a life or death situation, and I DON'T HAVE MY WAND!"

"You mean your staff?"

"NO YOU TWIT I MEAN MY WAND! The staff converted back into a wand and now I can't reach it due to my nephew over there," He pointed to his nephew, with the wand being right behind the boy, "And I can't read my spell book without my wand!"

"Sweet! I get to fight him! I can test out my fire sword now!" With that, he pulled out his sword, pointed it at Peter, and it became engulfed in blue flames, "If I think of water and point it to the ground, it get soaked, and if I point it to the sky, it gets all electrified!"

With that, Alfred charged at the young boy, who was now at a level that Alfred could swing his sword at him. Peter easily dodged, with a demented smile on his face. He twilred around and everything. Much like a little kid would do. He was engulfed in a dark, dark purple aura, that of which was slowly turning black.

_Like a Black Dream…._

"Alfred!"

"I know he is your nephew and all but-"

"Just kill the boy already!"

**XXX**

**WHEW! Finally done this chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I had to write a chapter for my other story and then Christmas came and all that jazz. x.x**

**SORRY if some of you guys weren't expecting the language used in this story! And I promise that I will up load another chapter within the next two weeks! The next chapter will be Francis' POV, because he eventually has a role in (what I am going to call) The Grand Room.**

**I will be drawing picture to go along with the story, and maybe even short mini-comics, so if you would like a better idea as to how everyone looks and stuff, here is my deviantART account:  
>.com  
>If you go in my gallery, and go to the sidebar on the left, there will (eventually) be a folder for my "The Black Marker" Artwork.<br>If you read my other story, Tables Turned: Parenting, then there will (eventually) be a folder for that as well!**

**Please review, favorite, and all that good stuff! Alex OUT! *mock salute***


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Okay, I lied. There will be no separate folder for drawings of this story on the side. XD  
>Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been updating this story much! I would provide an excuse, but it's not like anyone of you REALLY cares. XD (unless you know me, then you'd probably be a bit curious)<br>So, this chapter will be basically Francis' POV until he gets into The Grand Room (the room Alfred and Arthur are in.). This would be KICK A** if this was a video game. :D I think I might try and make a series of videos of this… OH MY GOSH I'LL DO THAT IN THE SUMMER! MUST CONCENTRATE ON SCHOOL FOR NOW! Oh, and I am breaking my "every two weeks I'll update" promise. :P I apologize.**

**Enjoy! :D**

**XXX**

(Francis' POV)

The room was a dark indigo color, more towards purple than anything. I felt a rush of cold down my spine. It pleased me, actually. I just wished that my dear _Angleterre _was there with me. The only weapon I wielded was the small, yet well made, crossbow that I grasped so tightly. My arrows shook with each step that I took, clinking up against each other, veins crinkling due to the small quiver.

I slowly walked to the center of the room, taking in each detail of the small room I was walking towards the center of. There were various paintings on the wall, ranging from different scenes of different parts of the world. There was the Eifel Tower in one frame, Big Ben in another, the Statue of Liberty; there were too many to name what they all contain.

Eventually my vision strayed from the paintings, and I found myself staring at a large tree in the center of the room. It was a barren tree, most likely dead from the lack of light, and there were small, black figures perched upon it. I figured they were just crows, and I continued to look around the room, but then I realized that there shouldn't be a tree growing out of the center of the floor in a dark room, especially with birds on it.

Just as I turned around, I was able to see the oncoming bird flying directly towards me. With quick reflexes, I pulled an arrow out of my quiver and stabbed the beast with it. There was no time to load it into the crossbow, and I did manage to hit the oncoming enemy. The odd thing was though; there was no blood or bones coming out of it. Its eyes began to glow a bright white, and seconds later, it disappeared off my arrow in a cloud of smoke. The rest of the birds on the tree stayed put, but I began to get a bit nervous walking around the tree.

First off, it was growing up from the ground, through tiles and everything. Second, the birds on it had a weird feeling to them when you go too near the tree. And third, they watched me walk around the room, never taking my eyes off of them. I walked slowly and cautiously, running my hand along the wall in hopes of finding a torch or something. I could easily light them on fire, with a trick I learned whilst living off the land. As I lit the torch, the fire didn't glow the bright orange I was ever so fond of, but instead lit up in a brilliant off-white color, almost a yellow. I held it near the tree, but the birds remained focused upon me. You wouldn't be able to tell if they were looking at the torch or me, but I could see in their eyes the image of my nervous figure, examining what I saw before me; an enemy I shall never forget.

The torch was taken out of my hand, and flew up to the ceiling, behind a wall of glass where it reflected off of to light the whole room up. Saw the crows had yellow eyes, which I found to not be so normal. I looked upwards for a brief moment, and then heard the whoosh of a thousand feathers lifting up into the air, ready to rip me to shreds.

The crows began to caw, and the more I concentrated on it, the more I heard a voice warn me. The crows weren't flying towards me, and it was almost as if they were waiting for me to do something. As I concentrated more on the sounds they were making rather than my chattering thoughts, I could make out the words _Take Up Your Bow_.

With a sigh, I uselessly responded, "Alright, _mon ennemi_,here we are," I held up the crossbow, the beautiful arrow ready to be fired into the hearts of those who dare to hurt me or my precious _Angleterre, _"I'm ready."

This was the moment I was waiting for. A real fight that I could do something in, to save a life. Even if it was just my own, but that is still highly important. What is a world without _moi?_ Nothing!

The birds seemed to be taking turns flying at me, which was a very easy task, "Honestly, if you want to challenge _moi,_ you have to put some effort into it!" I shouted over the beating wings and cries of the foul beasts. Almost as if they could understand me, three flew at me at once. I had no idea what to do, but without thinking, I loaded two more arrows which were my last arrows, onto the crossbow and hoped for the best. When I released the arrows, I watched as a stream of light flew out from behind them, speeding right through the opponent. I heard another cry from a bird to my right, so I moved my empty crossbow to the right, as if it would protect me. Suddenly the arrows shifted their course, and before I knew it, I was directing where the arrows would go.

They cut down the enemy two or three at a time; four if I got lucky. "Looks like _Angleterre, _isn't the only one with a magic touch!" I laughed as the enemy was slowly taken down, eventually reverting to nothing. I was still guiding the arrows, having them only been up there for a good twenty seconds. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with how fast I defeated the enemy. Not that I'm saying I was weak or anything!

I didn't know how to get the arrows to harmlessly come back to me, and decided it couldn't hurt to experiment. I threw my crossbow into the sky, and the arrows came straight back to it, and surprisingly enough, the crossbow came straight back to me.

"Those two MUST see this! Oh hon hon hon!" I walked over to the only other door in that room, which I didn't see there before, and walked through it, hoping that the others were on the other side.

(3rd Person POV)

… _in the Grand Room…_

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you would help me out here!" Alfred was getting mighty tired, and the flames on his sword seemed to grow dimmer as he fought on, "Don't you know any of those spells by heart?"

Arthur stood still and looked at the ground behind the pillar that was protecting him. He concentrated long and hard, trying to reach into the deepest regions of his mind to remember at least one spell that didn't require his wand, "Come on… what bloody spell doesn't require a wand?" He sat down behind the pole, running his hands through his hair.

"Dude! This is NO TIME to be relaxing!"

"You bloody git, give me a minute!"

"WE DON'T HAVE A MINUTE! We barely have thirty SECONDS before this flame dies out!" Alfred was right. The blue flames began to flicker on and off, leaving Alfred with only the sword he was swinging so violently. Arthur looked over to the fighting boy, as though he would trigger a memory to a spell. He watched the two fighting, Alfred attacking and Peter dodging like it was all a game, when suddenly, Peter vanished into thin air. Arthur turned back around to discover a demonically disfigured Peter standing in front of him, with one hand raised, ready to strike down upon Arthur's head with his sharp claws. He froze, and was trapped.

"Oh _Angleterre!" _Francis called in a sing-song voice that sounded almost like a woman's. Arthur as well as Peter looked over, and Francis shot an arrow at Peter, to which the boy dodged.

"You missed, you bastard!"

"Oh hon hon! I didn't miss! He moved his crossbow, redirecting the arrows in Peter's direction. The boy couldn't see them coming towards him, and was struck in the back, causing him to fall over. He laid there for a few moments, allowing Francis to run over to Arthur and hug him, and Alfred to regain his stamina, "_Mon amour,_ are you alright? You're bleeding a bit. Oh, give me one second." Francis stepped away from Arthur, lifting his crossbow to the sky. It pulled the arrow right out of Peter, and Francis threw the weapon into the sky, catching it safely as it came back down, arrow in stock, "Now, what is happening?"

"Well, I'm without my wand, Alfred is growing weary, and my nephew is possessed by a Black Dream. So I am doing JUST FINE. Any more questions?" He glared at Francis, who looked hurt, but smiled anyway.

"Ah, that's the same old _Angleterre_ I know and love."

"What?" Arthur was shocked. Francis, besides being Francis, never threw around the word love like it was any other word. He got up, and walked towards Francis. Right when he was about to confront him, Francis was head-butted into the wall, and looking as if he was deemed unconscious. "Francis!" Arthur yelled.

Alfred, having the energy to fight again, came over and swung at Peter, hitting his foot this time. "Man, that arrow must have seriously done some damage to slow him down this much. I wasn't even close to hitting him before!" The two were back to their fight, and Arthur cautiously walked over to Francis. As if this jogged a memory, he began to speak in a low, menacing tone.

"_Lights of the Heavens, retreat. For I shall protect this soul at my feet. Allow me to eliminate the harm that comes here, for no longer is there anything I fear!_" A pulse of light spanned out from his body, and the book he held so tightly to his side began to glow. Opening it, he realized he was able to see the words in it once more. The pages of it turned, and it flipped to the "Forbidden Spells section, that Arthur didn't even know was in there. The spell he just chanted was erased from the page, being only able to use it one time.

"Yo, Arthur! A little help over here is appreciated!" The two began to launch their attacks at the boy, who was slowed down with each attack that hit him. Eventually, Peter was lying on the ground, trembling. The aura began to change from a Black color, to Purple, and eventually, he glowed with white.

The two had not noticed that Francis was able to move, let alone use his power. He had managed to get Arthur's wand down from being suspended. "Arthur! Catch!" He propelled the wand at Arthur, who caught it just in time to fight the last of the beast that contaminated Peter's mind.

…_in the dark of Peter's mind…_

Arthur was falling and falling and falling. He had no idea when this endless loop was going to end. He passed Peter's memories as he fell down, and he saw how he was viewed in them; or rather, thought of.

Peter was blind since birth, and has needed his family's help all his life. Arthur was typically the one who looked after him, since his brothers were too violent, and their parents didn't care. Peter eventually learned the layout of the house on his own, simply by Arthur telling him every time they walked into a different room. He spent most of his time in the garden that they used to have when Peter was a bit younger than he is now. He would listen to the birds and the hum of the bees and bugs, but eventually the garden was destroyed in a great storm, which was also when Arthur's wand arrived. He always felt bad, because he thought it was his fault Peter lost his on sanctuary. Arthur would take him outside, but could never take him into the town.

They lived a great distance from everyone else, and Arthur had his own work to attend to. He loved Peter dearly, but he needed to keep working for his parents to make sure both of them could remain in the house. Arthur was the oldest and Peter was the youngest, and many times Arthur's mother has told them that they should live on their own; Arthur was an able man, but he could never afford a place for him as well as Peter to live. Because of his parents, he couldn't go to the town to pick up a job or at least a bit of work to earn some pocket change, so he was forced to remain a servant of his own parents.

Peter grew up not knowing the meaning of having a friend his age, "My only friend was my big brother Arthur. He teaches me everything I know! I would be a lot smarter if I didn't have those dark dreams at night. Arthur is very surprised I know what light and dark look like. I can even name colors!" Arthur fell past this strip of memory on his journey into Peter's mind.

He figures it was a part of clearing out the Black Dream. Maybe he needed the knowledge that these memories provided to defeat it…

Suddenly, he began to see a small, white circle on the ground. It grew in size, and Arthur realized it was the ground. He didn't exactly know what to call it, but it was something to finally walk on, none the less.

Arthur flipped open his spell book with some difficulty. He grasped the book so he wouldn't lose it, but also ran into the problem of the pages moving due to the air rushing around his body. He eventually found an air spell that would allow him to have a soft landing.

"_Plummeting to my death, I beg for a chance at life! Lift me up and allow my protection!"_ He couldn't have timed it more perfectly. He was about 30 feet off of the ground, when he felt like he was being carried. Looking up, he saw a white figure carrying him; most likely a ghost or a spirit bent on serving those of this destiny.

It carried him down gently to the white dot that was now a large circle of about four meters in radius. Not too big, but provided enough space for him to walk around in. He figured it would be of his best interest not to step out of the circle, seeing as how he wasn't sure if it would cause him harmed. He looked around into the darkness, and tried to see if there was really anything _to see_.

He couldn't see or hear anything. For a few minutes, he thought that he was deaf and maybe he had gone blind. But as soon as he looked back at the circle he could confirm that he still indeed had his vision. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Peter was blind, so maybe the darkness was Peter's corrupted bind's way of saying, "This is what it feels like."

As he stood there, unsure of what to do, the circle began to get noticeably smaller. He began to back towards the center of it, until the circle wasn't big enough for him to even move an inch forward before he steps into the darkness.

"Shit…I guess I have no choice." Slowly, he placed his foot in front of him as though to make sure that there was in fact stable ground there. Once he found that there was, he walked normally; well, as normally as he could. It's hard to walk in complete darkness and walk _normally_. He had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into.

**XXX **

**Sorry! This was just basically filler because I had exams for a while and needed to prepare, plus I had exams to get into a new school today. Won't find out if I get in until MOST LIKELY April. :P  
>Anyway, I'll try and update sooner! <strong>

**Alex, OUT! *mock salute***


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Okay, well I have been sick lately, and when I am sick I do a lot more things that aren't productive to my future. XD So, this would be one of those things that I do, because it helps me feel better. :D  
>It might seem a bit less… talkative because I am not quite social when I am sick, because I get very, very cranky. But I am in a good mood right now! *loves boiling hot showers* Oh, and I am going to be inserting (TheCrumpetThief432836) in between breaks, if the time has not changed too drastically at all. Let's see how long this takes me to FINISH:<br>(Start) 1-31-12 at 8:11pm  
>End time is at bottom in author's note~<br>LET'S ROLL!**

**XXX**

It was odd; not being able to see at all. It was quiet, except for the occasional tapping of Arthur's foot on the floor. He still didn't know what he was walking on. All he could do was aimlessly walk around in hope of finding a light; Or really, anything in general. There seemed to be nothing there.

Light was something that Arthur now longed for. He felt blind in this darkness; pitch black made him feel helpless. He didn't know what was around him or if there was any possible danger around. He didn't know what would happen if he died here. Would he really die, or just not clear Peter's mind? He didn't want to find out.

(TheCrumpetThief432836)

Have you ever been outside, closed your eyes, and looked in the direction of the sun? If you have, you tend to see a pinkish-red color, and maybe some other colors, right? Well, What Arthur was seeing as he 'saw' the light in front of him was something that no other human could ever experience. It made a whole new color! He believed it to be purple at first, but it was nowhere near purple! There wasn't a single color that could be compared to it.

He realized that he really couldn't see anything. It was almost as if he, himself, was blind like Peter. He thought that maybe this was what the blind saw when they looked at the sun. He thought that to be preposterous though, because they couldn't see light. Could they?

Suddenly, something flew across the light that he was seeing, and he froze where he stood. It seemed to be gone, but he wasn't sure. He heard loud footsteps approaching him, and he knew he wasn't alone. Since he was down one of his five senses, he would need a spell to-

"Bloody hell…" He wasn't able to read his spell book. He only knew about five spells by heart, one of which he couldn't use in this situation. He hid the book under his robe, where he kept it for later use, and took out his wand. He figured he may be able to stab whatever was trying to attack him. That was, before his wand disappeared from his hand, "For Pete's sake! Do I get ANYTHING?"

He stopped screaming when he felt the warm, heavy breathing of a beast behind him, and he felt a threatening aura. Looking in the direction of it, he saw a bright light.

_That couldn't possibly be what I need to get rid of. Sure, it has a bad aura amongst it, but honestly…_

He was punched. That's all he knew, was that he had been punched, and hard. He flew in the air for a moment, and then tumbled onto the ground, like a kickball. Grunting, he halted to a stop, and slowly got up. He felt a warm liquid running from his nose, and immediately tasted it in his mouth.

_Wonderful, I'm bleeding…_

He used his sleeve to wipe away the blood temporarily, the taste of blood not being a lovely taste to his mouth, and he searched for the light again, seeing as how it had faded. It really was odd, not being able to actually SEE the light, because he knew his eyes weren't clothes. He had poked the side of his eye before, just to see if his eyes were being forced shut.

Out of the corner of his eye, the light began to appear. It got brighter and brighter until it was unbearable. Then, Arthur was hit again, sent flying once more. He did this on purpose though, to see when the light was close enough to hit him. Once again, it charged him. He swung his arm back when it became really bright and managed to hit it head-on. Well, at least he assumed. He didn't even know if it HAD a head. It became very, very dark again and eventually turned pitch black.

_Was that it? That's all I had to do? Conquer the monster without my sight?_

Arthur walked around for a bit, unsure of where to go, when the room turned white. It was a blinding white, which eventually dimmed down so Arthur could see what was around him. There was a small, round, wooden table with two wooden chairs next to it. The chairs had maroon-colored cushions on them, to which Arthur walked over to and sat down on one of them. Looking at the table, he admired the design that was on it. Small boats 'floated' around the edges of the table, while white seagulls encompassed a small island. It was quite interesting, for the island looked more like a rock than anything; no trees or grass. No sand or animals. Just a big hunk of… shiny rock?

Then Arthur realized something, "I can… see? Does that mean I defeated the Black Dream?"

_If so, what do I do now?_

Suddenly, Peter appeared in front of him, still blind, "Thank you Arthur; for protecting me again. But I have one question…"

Arthur cocked an eyebrow, "What is it Peter?" Peter stood up and walked over to Arthur, hugging him. He began to shake, and Arthur heard him whimper. _He's crying?_

"Why did you leave?" He stepped back, and his skin began to change. Spots appeared. There were purple ones, blue ones, black ones, and yellow ones. Some of them even had more than one color, and some were accompaied by cuts; small ones, nothing major, "Father is mean… you know that. You were the only one who would ever stand up to him… I tried Arthur, I really tried to stand up to him… but I failed. He yelled at me, hit me, and made me cry. I couldn't defend myself…" He paused, holding his breath. He then looked at Arthur sternly and shouted, "I'M BLIND! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE! None of these bruises would be here if you hadn't left me… You're selfish, Arthur. More selfish than me. Coming from a blind kid, you should be _ashamed _of yourself, you jerk. I'm more adult than you'll ever be…I can't believe I looked up to you…"

Peter was surrounded in a bright, yellow light, and he table and chairs followed in pursuit, and soon, Arthur was covered in the same, warming, yellow light, and before he knew it, he was back in his own mind and body. He was a bit sore, finally feeling the effect of that monster in Peter's mind hitting him over and over. Arthur felt the hard, cool ground beneath his back, but something soft and warm beneath his head. He opened his eyes, and saw Francis looking down at him, stroking his hair.

Francis saw his eyes open, and turned to Alfred who was attending to Peter's unconscious body, "Alfred! He's awake!" Alfred pciked up Peter, and carried him over towards Francis and Arthur.

"So is this one. He's a bit pale. I'm going to go back to the kitchen where Arthur came from to get water for the two of them." Alfred laid Peter down, putting a cushion that was on a chair underneath his head. He ran through the door that was on the other side of the room, and Francis was left alone with the two.

Arthur turned his head to look at Peter. Even though Alfred said that he was awake, he didn't look the part. Francis saw the distressed look on Arthur's face, and placed his hand on the top of Arthur's head, "He will be fine, _mon amour._ Just give him some time. You need to rest."

Arthur wordlessly turned his head back to it's original position, looking up at Francis. He couldn't help but stare at him. For the first time since they've known each other, Arthur saw the face of a handsome man who's face was painted with worry and compassion, with just a hint of relief. Francis, looking back at him, allowed the young man to pull him down into a short kiss that sent a spark through both of their lips, making Arthur shiver. Alfred walked in with a bucket of water in hand, and snorted when he saw the two of them kissing.

"Took ya long enough to realize that Francis has bee crushin' on ya," Alfred placed the bucket next to Peter, and pulled out a rag from his boot that he found in the kitchen as well. He dipped it in the water, but not before taking two cups of water out for them to drink, and washed off Peter's face. He then rinsed the rag, soaked it again, and placed it on Peter's head, "It feels like he has a fever. That should help it a bit…"

Arthur and Francis had stopped kissing as they watched Alfred do all of this, to which Arthur scrambled up from his position and over to Peter, "A fever? Maybe he is ill from the monster he was fighting," Arthur removed the rag and felt his forehead. It was really hot, "Do you think this happens to all of the people who are possesed by the Black Dreams?"

"Possibly. I mean, this is our first encounter with someone being possesed, but even so; it's still a possibility." Francis looked at Alfred, surprised that he was talking so… matter-of-factly.

"_Angleterre_, we should look after him for now, until he gets better." Francis placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, and Arthur looked at him, nodding his head.

"Alfred, did you grab another rag?"

"What, are you starting to feel hot too?"

"No, you twit. I am going to carry Peter but that one rag wont stay on his head alone. I need to make a headband for him for when we leave here. If you can find another rag, put it in to icebox for a while, and then take it out. We need to keep them cold," He picked up Peter, and the rag fell on Arthur's shoulder, "Francis, hold the rag for now. I'm going to take him to his room."

Francis held the rag and walked with Arthur, Alfred returning to the kitchen. The two of them walked towards the door that Francis had just walked through, seeing as how that was apparently the fastest way to get back to the main hall.

Arthur looked around the room that Francis had fought in, noticing a few arrows here and there, "Hey, aren't you going to pick those up? You're going to need them."

"_Non, Arthur. Ils ne sont d'aucune utilité pour moi_…" he patted his quiver, with the new, advanced arrows that he had in there, "These ones will work for me."

Arthur didn't understand what the first part of what Francis said meant, but he figured it was something along the lines of, 'No, Arthur. They are of no use to me.'

Once they got back to the main hall Arthur looked around, making sure there wasn't going to be any surprise attacks, and then he realised that he hadn't seen the rest of his family. He shrugged it off and continued to walk towards the stairs leading to the second floor, where Peter's room was located. Arthur always found that to be quite stupid, seeing as how the boy was blind and could easily fall down the stairs if left unsupervised. But then again, that's what Arthur was there for.

"Francis, could you open that door for me please? The one to your left." Francis turned the knob, and the door creaked open. Francis peeked inside, and saw that there was no damage done to this room, and proceeded into it.

"It's safe to go in. I don't see anything damaged or any sign of those monsters." Arthur nodded, and walked past him to the bed, gently placing Peter down. He returned the rag that was on his now wet shoulder to his forhead, and he placed the cup of water that Francis kindly carried for him next to the bed on a small table.

Arthur pulled up a small stool, and sat at Peter's bedside, looking at his pale face. He felt the pain in his heart for leaving him here to fend for himself, which he couldn't do according to himself.

_I swear Peter… I won't leave you here this time. You'll come with me and escape this Hell… I promise._

"Arthur, I think I should go find Alfred. He has no idea where we are." Arthur only nodded. Francis exited the room, leaving Arthur alone to apologize to Peter, even if he couldn't hear him.

"I never knew you felt that way, Peter… wow, I really don't think I have a good enough apology for you…" Arthur sniffled, and felt like he was going to cry, "I know it wasn't my best decision at all to run away from home and leave you here to fend for yourself when I know that you can't. I wasn't thinking… I never knew Father would be so heartless as to beat you…" Arthur began to cry a bit, wanting all of this pain to go away, "I should have taken you with me. No matter how much I would have to do to keep you well fed and healthy, I should have taken you with me. Maybe then I wouldn't be here now, and you wouldn't be sick like this… It's.. it's all my fault…" He dropped his head into his hands and began to cry even more.

_It's my fault…I'm…. I'm selfish…_

He heard a squeak, and he looked up, tears still streaming down his face. Looking up at the bed, he realized Peter sat up, and drank some of the water. He rubbed his eye as he placed the rag on the table, the color slowly returning to his face.

"P-Peter? How are you feeling?" Peter jumped, not expecting anyone to be at his bedside, much less Arthur.

"I'm fine, Arthur. Where am I?"

"You're in your bedroom. Do you remember anything that just happened?"

"Well… I had a dream…" Peter described everything that had just gone on, but said that it was all a dream.

"I hate to tell you this but, that wasn't a dream. It was all real," Arthur explained the situation to Peter, and he told Peter what he had been told in his mind, "I never knew you felt that way, Peter… I'm really sorry. I'm not sure if you heard any of that apology I just blubbered out but… I'm really sorry…"

Peter's hand moved around until he found the edge of the bed, and he then swung his legs over the side, standing up, "Can you give me a hug?" Arthur silently let another tear slip out, and he hugged the small boy, "I forgive you, Arthur. But… I was really scared. The bruises have gone away ever since everyone left, but I haven't been able to find the kitchen. I got stuck in the Grand Hall…"

Suddenly, Francis and Alfred walked in with food and more water in hand, "Hey! I see the kid's up and about! Is he hungry?"

Peter hid behind Arthur's legs, not knowing if he really was hiding from them and not knowing who they were, "Wh-Who are you?"

"Peter, it's Alfred and Francis. They have food for you."

Peter made his way back over to the bed, and sat down, cross-legged, "Alright. Arthur, can you help me?"

"Sure thing, Peter."

After he fed the boy, Alfred, Arthur, and Francis discussed what they were to do from here on out. Peter sat to the side, eating an apple Alfred had originally brought for Arthur.

"I think we should make this our base. Ya know? Like where we can return to instead of that little shack from before? This would be a great upgrade from what we had, considering there might eventually be five of us or more. I'm sure we could convice the rabbit to move here." Alfred smiled, biting into a carrot.

"I have to agree with you. I know this place inside and out, and there are plenty of bedrooms for us all, along with food and plenty of other rooms which we can use for various tasks."

"I wouldn't mind living here at all. It's a wonderfully large house, and you already know the layout of it. I see no reason not to make this our Headquarters." Francis was out in the hallway, being a guard incase anything came to attack them.

"Of course, we would have to go on a monster hunt, just to make sure there are no more Black Dreams here that could harm us if we are caught off-guard." Arthur remained seate, watching Peter. Alfred though, stood up and walked towards the door.

"Francis and I can run through the building really quickly. There are only three floors right? We've already covered the first floor, so I can take the second floor and Francis can take the third."

"That's fine with me. Are you going to be alright, _Angleterre?_"

"I'll be fine, but you two will get lost without maps. Allow me to sketch each of you a map really quick. Peter, do you have paper in here?"

"Yes I do, and the ink is in the same place. It is in the top shelf of my dresser, where I can't reach it." Arthur walked over, and grabbed both of them. The ink was a bit chunky on top, but after mixing it a bit, it went back to its watery consistency.

Arthur sketched the maps out in no time, almost as if he had to do this a lot for people. Each man took a map, and set out on their quest to make their headquaters a safe place to live.

**XXX**

**(Finish) 2-9-12 at 10:03pm**

**I didn't continuously type this like I was PLANNING on doing, but I didn't go to school today so I finished it tonight. Bleh.  
>I didn't go to school because I ate expried Pop-Tarts and got sick, because I am just that dumb. -_-<br>Sorry the ending was kinda… flat. I really couldn't summon a good ending, so that is what my fingers typed.  
>I really have nothing to say. I'm tired. Night night!<strong>


	6. Chapter 5: Strange Bottles

**Chapter 5**

**Okay you do not want to know how I just said "Ah mah gosh, filler!" Because that is what this is… filler. Because I am slacking… x.x sorry!  
>Anyway, I was writing this while at a presentation because I was bored and already knew what they were talking about, so I emailed this to myself. XD<br>Nothing really to say… Enjoy the filler!**

**XXX**

Why does each room have a different temperature? Unlike today, with air conditioning, there were none back then. So why was each room a different temperature?

Francis walked into the kitchen, it was cold. In the living room, it was warmer than the kitchen. It seemed to get warmer with each room he entered. But once he went back into the kitchen, it was cold again. Francis couldn't understand it, but thought it wasn't that significant. He wasn't the only one who was having this circumstance though.

On the second floor, Arthur was having the same problem, except in the opposite order. It started hot, then the rooms gradually became colder and colder. He took note of this, unlike Francis.

However, Alfred wasn't having this problem at all. The ceilings had various holes in them, allowing vines and other foliage to grow into the room. Dozens upon dozens of things were covered in bugs and dirt; not to mention plants. He saw that even some things were rotting. Books were covered in a mix of dust and dirt, chairs were wet with rain and harshly wrapped in a series of vines and other plants. Bookcases were rotting away from the rain and the vines the squeezed the ever so delicate wood. Alfred ran his hand curiously along the plants and the walls, touching everything that seemed to be destroyed and tampered with by nature.

Almost silently, he said, "Damn..." he was amazed at what nature was capable of. Any and all holes seemed to be the vines doing, and with the way they spread out, they gave the appearance of looking for something.

Stopping, Alfred looked around the room, as if he was trying to find the item of importance they ( the vines) were looking for. He was on the brink of failure. He moved book cases, rugs, tables, chairs and practically anything he could. He found nothing. He didn't even know what he was looking for. He had a very bad feeling about that room though. The desk in the center of the room was bothering him. It was untouched, as if someone was keeping it that way; cleaning it.

That was the last place he needed to check. Slowly, he crept over to the drawers, and pulled them open one by one. The first drawer was completely empty. The next had a strange concoction of sorts in a bottle. He figured he would take it with him, just in case he needed it later. Before he stashed it away though, he took off the top and sniffed it. The black liquid inside smelled of garlic and mud. It seemed to be just that, but the blackness of it was making him wonder.

Snapping the top back on, and stashing it away, he exited the room with a pit of nervousness in his stomach. Closing the door only made him feel worse, like he was locking someone in there.

All of the rooms were in similar conditions to the last. Vines covered everything, water dripped from the roof, and bugs crawled along the floor in search of a place to hide; a place to rest. Alfred, at this point, was very mentally tired, but still felt like he could run around the world. He decided that he was fine, and entered the last room. It was the only room, besides the first one, with a closed door. Gripping the knob of the door, he felt the warmth surge through his hand, and eventually becoming excruciatingly painful heat. He yelped as he pulled his hand off, shaking it.

"Owowow…" He blew on his hand as if it would cool it off, "What the heck?" deciding that the door knob was too hot to handle, Alfred decided he might as well break the door down. He needed to make sure this floor was safe.

He backed up, took a deep, confident breath in, and charged at the door. The impact was so powerful it came crashing down and splitting into a few pieces. He got up, proud of his work, and looked around him. There seemed to be no reason why the door knob was so hot, even though the room was a bit warmer than the others. Suddenly, a cold breeze rushed into the room, zooming past Alfred and adjusting the temperature to feel like the others. Alfred began to suspect that the temperature of the rooms had something to do with this level of the house. Maybe it's a puzzle?

Alfred did his routine search around the room, still finding nothing. With a sigh, he went back to where Peter was, as a temporary headquarters. As he descended the stairs he felt like someone was watching him now, as if he had done something wrong, and someone was checking in on him to ensure nothing else wrong happened. He couldn't shake the feeling, and somewhere deep inside him, he really didn't want to shake the feeling.

Downstairs, Francis was walking back to the main hall, carrying some things he found. Like Alfred, he also found some sort of concoction in a bottle. This one, however, was a purple color. He admired the way it seemed to glow out of the bottle and how its transparency was unbelievable. The other thing she had discovered and picked up was a small journal, a lantern, and he found a few arrow scraps he could use to make more.

(TheCrumpetThief432836)

The three of them met back in Peter's room, the child playing with a piece of string he tore from the bed, and they discussed their findings. The concoctions were the most puzzling things. Arthur hadn't found one and wasn't able to search all of the rooms because the time limit was up, but he said that he would resume his search after they all rested.

"Where did you fellows find those, exactly? Maybe there is a connection to their location that makes them special," Arthur held the two bottles in his hand, comparing them. They seemed to be attracted to each other as their contents swished around, which looked as if they moved towards the other bottle.

"I found mine in a desk drawer. The room had a weird feeling to it, even after I left with the bottle; as if someone was following me. Gave me the creeps," he shivered.

"Mine was in a very similar place. It appeared to be in a small desk that would be used for business or research. It was nice in there; not too hot, not too cold. I have to say though, the kitchen was very cold. I can't remember, but I know there was also a room that was very hot," Francis sipped the water he had been given, "I also found a journal, but I flipped through it, and it appears to be your brother's, Arthur. Scott, was it?"

Arthur's head snapped up at both of Francis' statements, "Wait… different room temperatures? Alfred, did you have this problem?" Alfred shook his head, "And a journal, you say?" Arthur was handed the journal, and he flipped through it, only to discover that it wasn't completely filled. He also confirmed that it really was Scott's.

"Just to double check, none of you ran into monsters, right?" Peter had stopped playing with the string, a very scared and serious look on his face.

Everyone in unison said "We didn't see any."

Peter nodded and went back to playing with the string.

"Wow…" Alfred looked at everything they found, and thought about what they all had experienced, "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

**XXX**

**This was purposely short! I haven't been able to write much, but spring break is coming up eventually, so I will be able to type a lot more then. At least I uploaded something! XD  
>Quote of the month: My mother doesn't even know her own daughter.<br>She says I have been acting weird lately, when I have been acting like nothing but myself. Apparently, she doesn't know me all too well. I spend a lot of time with her, don't get me wrong, but she really seems to not know me at all.  
>OFF TO SCHOOL WITH ME! *Slings on backpack and runs down the street to her bustop*<strong>


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